Coping
by Noriellie
Summary: "She tried her best to fake a smile. This night was not going to end in tears." Mio is set to leave Japan. How will her and Ritsu's friendship fare? Based on Musicotaku08's Minor Misunderstandings. AU.
1. Departure

Mio inhaled the scent of metal and airconditioning as she entered the airport. This was it. She would be leaving Japan and all her friends behind today. She warily looked back, imagining them behind her, urging her on. Tears threatened to fall as she remembered her best friend's face. Wiping them away with a quick swipe, she passed through the detector and trudged on. They needed to leave. It was for the best. Besides, she's done this all before. Her and her best friends for two years had to seperate because of the same reasons. But why did this hurt so much more?

"Wait here," her mom called from behind. She nodded. She watched people aimlessly wander around, passing time. Sighing, she shook her head. Alone time would mean she would think about useless things again.

"Hey, you dropped this," a boy around fifteen said. He handed her a charm bracelet.

"Uh, thanks," she replied. Did she drop this? The boy smiled and walked off. Only then did she realize that it wasn't hers. She looked around for the boy but he'd disappeared from sight. She sighed again. She lifted the charm to eye level. It was a locket! Curious, she opened it. Inside was a note that said:

_"You looked really down so I thought I might give this to you. Hopefully you'll cheer you up!_

_ -You don't really need to know my name._

_P.S. You won't get married if you keep frowing like that. You'll scare the boys away."_

With a soft chuckle, she finally smiled. What a thoughtful thing. She searched the crowd again for the boy but he was nowhere to be seen. Such kind people actually existed in this world. She saw her mom coming back and quickly hid it. She'd get really embarrassing if she saw this.

"You ready to go?" she asked. Mio nodded. She was going to leave Japan.

The moment she set foot on the plane, she already began to feel homesick. She didn't let it show though. Her mom had enough problems, she didn't want to add to them.

"Excuse me ma'am?" a flight attendant got her attention. Was something wrong? Would she be able to stay here instead?

"Yes?" her mom answered.

"It seems your daughter has been bumped up to Business Class," the attendant said. Mio was surprised. Was she on a lucky streak today or somethig? First the locekt, now this!

_'Now, if only the flight got cancelled,' _she thought. However, she knew that that was going too far. Her good luck couldn't keep going. It never did.

"Oh? How?" her mom questioned, a little bit suspiscious.

"A family riding in Business has one extra seat. They asked specifically for you child to sit with them," the woman explained. It was too strange but Mio would do anything for an upgrade right now. There was too little leg room in Economy. She stared at her mom, practically begging her to let her go. It was just this once after all. With a sigh, she let her go. Mio did a mental cartwheel. Hopefully she'd keep getting lucky.

The lady guided her to her seat. To her surprise, the person next to her was the same boy from before. He gave her a thumbs up as she got settled in.

"So? You read my letter yet?" he casually asked.

"Uh, y-yeah," she responded a little awkwardly. She barely knew this guy.

"Good. At least you look like you're in higher spirits."

"I've been having some good luck today."

"Must be my influence," he commented. Mio giggled. "So, why were you so down anyway?"

Mio shifted uncomfortably before speaking, "I've had to leave all my friends here. I mean, I know I have to but it still hurts. It's just that we've all made so many memories in just a year. I didn't want that to change."

"You look like a frequent flyer though," he remarked. She nodded.

"I had to say goodbye to so many close friends but I've never been this sad to go. If only I could rewind time," she mumbled. He pat her on the shoulder.

"You'll see them again, won't you?"

"Yeah but, that's going to take a year."

"A year passes by so fast. You'll be with them again before you know it."

"I guess so."

"Oh that's right! I haven't properly introduced myself yet. I'm Kei. You?"

"Mio, Akiyama Mio."

* * *

Mio stretched her whole body. There was still a good six hours before they reached their destination. With that much time and nothing to do, she ended up with an endless storm of thoughts and memories.

_*Flashback*_

_"You're here!" Mio exclaimed as the first guests appeared at the gate. She rushed outside and let them in. Each bore gifts. Gifts she would treasure very much._

_"We're first! Yay!" Chris celebrated. Mio smiled at her friend's childishness. She saw that two of the other 4 guests brought guitars. She always wanted to play that. She had lessons but stopped, choosing to learn pano instead. It seems that she couldn't handle learning two instruments at once._

_"This one's from me. Don't lose it ah!" Gen said, almost demandingly. Mio eyed the present with curiosity. What was in it?_

_One by one, the others started coming. She'd greeted each of them with a hug or a warm smile. At least she hoped it was warm and welcoming. Hopefully, she didn't look like she was a witch about to cast a spell on someone. She pushed the insecure thoughts away and talked to her friends._

_Ritsu finally came. She was more than thrilled to see her best friend there. Mio was a little busy though, keeping everyone entertained. If only her game console had two controllers. She sighed. They had two before but the other one broke. It would've been fun to kick the boys' butts. Sadly, she wouldn't be doing that tonight._

_The grop had decided to sing karaoke instead. The girls were all up for it, the guys paid no mind however. They weren't going to get caught up with this. Mio smiled to herself. If only things could continue on like this. Ritsu and Mio didn't sing in. They didn't like to sing._

_"Here, a present from me and Tim," Chris said. He was holding a huge teddy bear in front of him. Mio had to supress the smile forming on her lips. She wouldn't show it. Not when _he_ was around. Especially now that he's found out. She took the stuffed animal with joy._

_"Thanks!" she chimed. She didn't think _he _would give her this, though. Then again, she never thought he'd even tell her that he knew. She sighed. He'd seen her and Chris' text messages. It would've gone better if he didn't know but, oh well. Not like she was planning on confessing anyway._

_It was time for people to leave. Tonight was definitely the best. But it saddened her. This was her farewell party after all. She would be gone in a few days. She tried her best to fake a smile. This night was not going to end in tears._

_Ritsu was leaving. Mio gave her a hug and said her farewells._

_*End of Flashback*_

A single tear rolled down her cheeks. She wiped it off as an attendant walked by. This was going to be a long ride.

* * *

**A/N: **I was inspired to write this after reading Musicotaku08's fic, _**Minor Misunderstandings**_.

This is somewhat the same story, told in Mio's POV. I intend to fill in details that were not covered in her version and add some things that Ritsu had not seen nor heard about. And so, I suggest you check out her version first. It would clear some things up in the near future.


	2. Remembering

Since I forgot to do so last time, I shall say it now. I do not own K-ON! or any of its characters. I do however own my memories.

On with the story. Hope you like it.

* * *

A girl with sleek black hair shghed as she stepped out of the plane. Her pink jacked that covered a white tee was wrinkled from the flight. She stretched to release the tension in her muscles. Her dark skinny jeans felt tight against her legs. She wished she wore something more comfortable

"Well then, I guess I'll see you," a boy said from behind. She moved her gaze to the person and smiled before nodding.

"See you," she whispered. Hopefully, she would get to meet this wonderful person again.

"Mio!" her mom hollered. With a gleeful smile, she ran to her mother's side. With one last wave, she mouthed thanks to the boy.

* * *

Mio sucked in a breath. She could do this. She's done this numerous times before! This should be a piece of cake.

As she entered the lobby, she was taken back by how beautiful the place looked. Cream coloured walls were covered with paintings and awards. She looked at one of them and marveled at the artist's attention to detail.

"Good morning!" a receptionist greeted. Mio hadn't noticed her behind the huge brass desk. She wore a green dress which she paired with a black cardigan and brown sandals. The brunette felt slightly relieved to see the chirpy woman.

"A-Ah, good morning" she replied timidly.

"I'll be your guide today," she said as she stood up. Mio merely nodded in response. She wished Ritsu was here. It would've been so much easier.

* * *

A boy in her class was the exact copy of Ritsu. Not in looks but in behaviour. He reminded her of her so much that they became instant friends.

_"Hey, can you help me with this question?" Mio asked. The boy nodded and began explaining the question through and through. 'Is this what people would call a nerd? If so, then he's a very fun nerd,' she thought with a soft snort._

_"And that's how you do it. You get it now?" he asked her. She nodded and said a small thank you before getting back to her work._

_"Hey, you're Mio right? I'm Ray by the way," the nerdy boy said. Mio looked up and gave him a shy smile._

_"Yeah. Nice to meet you," she replied. Ray nodded and snapped back to work. Mio did the same. She was so engrossed in the Level 8 question that she didn't even notice her classmates play loud music. That is, until she heard someone whistling. It instantly reminded her of Ritsu. She looked up to see Ray whistling random tunes, then when he was over with that, proceded to whistle random noises. She smiled. So much like her best friend. _

Ever since then the two had hung out. She didn't care what the people thought. Ray was a very nice guy. Those type of boys were rare. Besides, he reminded her too much of Ritsu to ignore. He reminded her too much of home, where she really belonged.

* * *

Ritsu and Mio barely talked now. They would occasionally chat to each other. It was hard though, because of the time differences. With a sigh, Mio looked away from her homework and at the picture she had of her and Ritsu. Those days with her were so much fun.

First Term was about to end. Months could fly by so quickly. She was really shocked when she found out that there were no Term Tests. Everything we'd learnt would be tested in the end of the year, they'd said. Mio thought it was kind of stupid to do that. Students would've already forgotten everything they learnt the past few months by then. Well, whatever. It wasn't like she could tell them how to run their school.

She imagined what Ritsu's reaction would have been like. Probably along the lines of, "Woah! Cool! No term tests! This is the best news I've heard in all my life!" then she'd be shouting, "Tested on everything at the end of the year? That's crazy! You're all crazy! I'll forget everything by then! Why must you torture me so?" She laughed. It would be so like Ritsu. With a sad sigh, she reverted back to the Science homework. At least they rarely had homework here.


	3. Save Me!

_Noticed that the story was cut off in the middle. If you read this before August 17, then you need to reread. If you're reading it after August 17, then continue on as if nothing ever happened. Good day._

* * *

"No no no no no no NO! Don't touch that!" Mio shouted at the top of her lungs. The metal had been resting on top of the Bunsen burner for ten minutes. She held her breath as her classmate knocked it over and onto her forearm. Her eyes flashed. Blood will be shed this evening.

"What is going on here!" the teacher demanded. Mio stared at the burn she'd received. With a calm expression, she ran water over it.

"The metal we were supposed to be heating got knocked over by somebody and it fell on my arm," she explained. The Science teacher sighed before giving the culprit a pointed look. At least she wouldn't get in trouble with the girl for blaming her.

"Go to the nurse, Mio," she instructed. She nodded and went on her way.

Thankfully, she was on good terms with this nurse.

The hallways were empty, encasing her with an eerie silence. She mentally scowled. The flickering lights weren't comforting either. Everyone knew that empty hallway + creepy silence + flickering lights = somebody was going to die. She shook her head, dismissing the thought. This wasn't some sort of horror movie. Things like that never happened in real life.

'Yeah but some are based off of true stories,' she reasoned. With a shudder, she walked faster across the corridor, skipped three steps at the stairs and swiftly dodged the TAs with ease.

"Hello," she greeted. The nurse peered over her blue rimmed glasses.

"What did you do this time?"

"Got a burn," she explained. The nurse nodded and applied ointment onto her burn. It stung but at least it felt better afterwards. She got up, thanked the nurse and left.

She walked back the way she came. Finally, she got there. She was beginning to feel really creeped out. '_The guy from Friday the 13th is coming to get youuuuu!_' she heard Ritsu chanting in her head. She smiled before breaking out in a dash towards the Lab.

She thankfully arrived without injury– she'd been imagining herself being dismembered the whole time. The class stared at her as she sat down. Why were they staring?

"What did the nurse do?" the same boy that had made the outburst asked her. She shrugged.

"Gave me some ointment to put on it," she said, referring to the burn.

"Oh. She didn't give you Panadol?" he eyed her suspiciously.

"Why would she give me that? It'd be useless!" she reasoned. What was going on in that kid's head?

"Because the nurse doesn't do anything when someone's sick or hurt! Do you know what she does? Got a cold? 'Here, take Panadol,' got a fever? 'Here, take Panadol,' got a headache? 'Go rest!'" he mocked. Mio rolled her eyes at his foolishness. The others though, didn't think it was and burst into fits of laughter. Even the teacher was laughing! She sighed. What kind of class did she get into?

Her answer was soon answered when they were headed home. It seemed that her class was not only full of unreasonable idiots, it was also full mean, abusive, possessive little sadists. She ground her teeth as a rather large girl dragged her, albeit forcefully, towards the direction she wanted to go. Mio wouldn't have been surprised if her arm bruised. This girl however, was not in any way, shape or from 'little'. She was double her size, making the girl uncomfortable and unable to fight back. She mentally snarled at the bully.

"Walk and stop dragging your feet on the floor!" the girl chastised. Mio maintained a perfectly calm expression throughout the whole thing. But inside she was sneering. She was bloody furious! If she tried fighting back, she'd get bruises all over! She prayed that she would somehow be able to be rid of her so-called 'best friend'.

That was the problem. Everybody thought that they were the best of friends! Even this girl seemed to believe it. It was far from the fact. In fact, she downright despised this girl who'd been maltreating her. The other problem was that she was too nice to tell the girl to bug off and leave her alone. And if she did do that, she'd be all of the girls' punching bag. Hopefully, not physically. But they'd threaten her and exclude her. Meaning, she'd be bullied mentally and emotionally. That was worse.

So, she decided to just go with the flow. She would humor the girl until the end of the year. Then she'd ask to be in another class the following year. That was her plan but her resolve was slowly fading. More of this, and she might go mad. Worse, she'd be so demented, she'd be sent to a mental hospital. She grimaced. What had she done to deserve this?

'All those times you lost your temper on your siblings,' her conscience decided speaking to her again. She resigned to her fate and let her 'best friend' drag her to wherever she wanted to go.

* * *

Mio crawled into bed after brushing her teeth. The dark room strangely gave off a welcoming feeling, her bed more so. She pulled the covers tight around her figure and began to lull herself to sleep.

Sleep did not come easily to the exhausted teenager. Growing tired of this, she let out an exasperated grunt and pushed the covers off her person. She needed to stop thinking.

'Stop thinking, brain,' she ordered. Her brain was not cooperating though. Soon, she found herself thinking about school. About the incident, about her stupid classmates and their stupid antics, about that girl who kept pushing herself onto her! Then she thought about home. She thought about her school there, she thought about her classmates, and most importantly, she thought about her real best friend, Ritsu.

All hell broke lose as the dam broke. Streams of tears poured won her face. She began chiding herself.

'_Why are you so stupid! Why did you agree to this? Look at the mess you're in! Why won't you stand up for yourself? Are you so pathetic that you can't even protect yourself? You're a weak, good for nothing, pathetic loser! That's why none of the other girls approach you. They think you're ugly too! And dumb_!'

She cried harder. This wasn't how she imagined life to be. She'd imagined her first year in high school to be carefree and amazing! Just like in that anime she watched! Oh she was wrong. She was so horribly wrong! If it was even possible, the girl cried harder and harder, soaking her pillow in tears. She didn't care. She would carry on until she was drained. And that meant crying in the shower.

* * *

Mio emerged from her car, quiet as usual. She never was a morning person. Hopeful, she prayed that the horror wasn't in today. She wasn't in the mood for that madness.

Her prayers were for naught, it seemed. The girl made her way to her. Mio kept a stoic expression on. '_Oh, how lovely! The pain in the arse is here_!' she thought sarcastically. All of this was changing her for the worse and she was fully aware of it. She frowned. Ritsu, she decided, wouldn't be hearing about any of this.

"Hey there fatso!" a boy in her class called. This made 'fatso' turn around to shoot him a look.

"Shut up! I'm not fat! I hate you!" she screamed in a shrill, yet hoarse, voice. This was probably the worst noise she'd ever heard in her life.

"How are you not fat? Compared to the other girls, you're huge!" another boy joined in. Soon, everyone was throwing her insults. Mio made no moves to stop them. Maybe this would teach the girl a lesson.

The girl ran out of the Quad and into the girls' restrooms with tears in her eyes. Mio felt a pang guilt wash over her. She'd let someone get bullied! She watched it and didn't make any effort to stop it! It went against all of her wishes, but the brunette ran after her supposed 'friend'.

"You okay?" she asked, knocking on the stall. No answer came. Mio sighed.

"I didn't like you, you know," the girl confessed. Mio's guilt was replaced with contorted rage. She kept it in however, deciding to let the girl explain herself. "When they pushed us to pair up in gym class, I hated you. I thought you were stupid and annoying. But because they kept pairing us up, I thought, 'She's actually nice,' and sticked with you. You're very kind but you're too shy."

'_Shut up_!' Mio kept yelling in her head. She couldn't talk back. It wasn't in her nature. She a quiet, timid girl who never lost her cool in front of anyone. She was going to handle this in a matured way.

"I know, Nellie. Look, sorry I didn't help back there. I really am," she apologized over and over. In her mind, however, she was yelling at herself. This was her golden opportunity to be rid of this nutter once and for all! "So? Are we still friends?" As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she regretted it. The bespectacled girl came out of the stall and hugged her. Mio awkwardly hugged back. What did she just do?

This year was going to be the worst year she'll ever have...

Proof of this sprung up every now and then. No, more likely, everyday. Sure, there were good times like the occasional funny moments (though she'd never admit it was funny) and the fact that she's gathered a few borderline friends. None of whom were girls, mind you. She found the girls to be absolute prats. At least the boys in her class were tolerable.

Nellie gradually got worse and worse. She'd give Mio little to no chance of speaking for herself, ate most of her food, berate her when she got higher marks than her, saying that it was her fault for distracting her, and she would drag her (forcefully and against her will) everywhere! And by everywhere she meant it. In the bathrooms, on errands, getting her food, and even to her house!

Mio was slowly but surely losing it. She didn't even know if this counted as bullying since the bully in question didn't even realize what she was doing. The other supposedly nice 'cool' girls would side with Nellie though. She knew it for a fact. They'd think she was being stuck-up and picky and was being mean to Nellie. Well, that's what they want people to think. The real reason was because they didn't want to get stuck with her instead. And so, they dumped the girl on her.

She sighed and organized her thoughts. Thinking happy thoughts never did work for her. Instead, she delighted in ways she could get out of here. In a way, that should be counted as happy thoughts, shouldn't it? Yeah, if you ignored the fact that the whole student body—save a few—would somehow get embarrassed or hurt.

This was another problem. She's starting to become sadistic herself. Not that she hadn't been a little sadistic before, but this was getting worse and worse. She probably needed to see a psychiatrist or something.

"Hurry up!" someone barked, snapping her out of her reveries. She inwardly groaned when a big hand snatched at her arm and began pulling her to God knows where.

"Hey wait up!" another person shouted. It was one of the boys in her class. She sighed in relief, this would be a good excuse to get away from the terrorizing monster.

"Yes?" she answered, too eager.

"Come on, Miss said we have to practice that thing for the Maths competition," he explained. Mio almost jumped for joy. Not that she wanted to do the endless math questions, she just wanted a reason to get away from the girl.

"Alright then," she said and pried Nellie's hands off of her arm with much difficulty.

"Dude, let go. We need to go _now_," the boy leered at Nellie. Even with this, she still wouldn't let go. "Are you deaf or something? Or are you just plain stupid? We need to go. Oh, and no one who isn't in the tournament can go."

Mio smirked, despite herself. Thank you lords! The boy seemed to notice her smirk and smiled at her.

"I don't care! She promised to go with me!" Nellie whined. What was wrong with this girl?

"You have issues. Who cares what she promised! Do you want to get us all in trouble?" he bellowed. This didn't move the girl one bit.

Deciding that she'd stayed quiet enough, Mio spoke, well more like snarled, "Will you please listen Nellie? I never promised a thing. You're just taking me wherever you please without even consulting me. Now let me go. Go find someone else to impose upon."

_Translation: Shut up and stop lying. Since when did I ever agree on anything with you? You just up and bring me to places you want to go without even asking me. I want to get rid of you and I want to get rid of you _now_. Go find someone else to bother and annoy for once. I'm sick of this._

The boy seemed to get what she meant and looked at her with an appraising look. Nellie didn't, of course she didn't, that was the point! Reluctantly, she let go of her arm and literally stomped off.

"Is she always so clingy?" the boy asked. His tone gave away his obvious disgust at the girl.

"You have no idea," she muttered.

They walked up the tiled staircase and into the weird tunnel made of panels. This was in no way a hallway.

"What's your name?" he asked her.

"Mio," she replied. "You?"

"Shane," he answered. "How can you stick her? She's all over you in classes!"

"Too tolerant for my own good," she lied.

"You got that right. If it was me, I'd have tied her up and thrown her into the lake."

She gave an airy laugh at this. "I'm sure you would."

"You don't think I have the guts?"

"Yes," she deadpanned. He looked taken aback before laughing good-naturedly.

"You got me there. But I would if I could get away would it," he added.

"So would I," she whispered.

They reached the classroom and entered. There were tables pushed against each other to accommodate six people. Seated at a table was Ray, her British classmate named Jake, a Turkish girl from her year, and a guy who looked like he was in Year 10.

"Sit down and start answering the questions. You don't need to rush. Just make sure you don't make mistakes. If you don't know the answers, you can ask each other," the teacher, Miss Murray instructed.

Mio took a seat at the table in between Ray and Shane. Opposite her was the Turkish girl. Jake sat on her left and the other guy sat on her right. It looked as though Jake and the girl knew each other.

She glanced at the people on her table as she set on her work. Shane was tall with dark skin. He had tousled black hair and piercing hazel eyes. He was athletic and decent looking. He was apparently one of the cooler guys in her year. He seemed to be left out when it came to pairs since he came in later than the rest. The fact that he had to walk around with crutches made the girls croon over him, saying 'what a poor bloke' he was.

Ray was tall with pale skin. His spiked hair and eyes was black. He wore glasses and had braces, giving him a nerdy look. He hung out with the rest of the boys in her class. The girls thought him odd and avoided him on purpose. Mio found it quite unnerving. There was nothing wrong with the kid! People and their judgmental ways. They saw him as a dork. He was nerdy but he was fun and was always willing to lend a helping hand.

Jake was the second tallest in her class and was really pale. He had dirty blonde hair that he spiked, permanently giving him a 'I'm cool' look and pale blue eyes. He was on par with Shane in the sports department and was labeled the 'biggest catch of all time' by the girls. They judged him too, obviously, since he was definitely not that social. He never talked to anyone unless he had to and was rather cold towards girls.

'_I would be too, if I had people judging me by my looks before even getting to know me_,' she thought with a roll of her eyes.

The Turkish girl was plump with a fair complexion. Her hair was chestnut brown and was long and straight. Her eyes were a murky brown and she looked rather outgoing. She was indeed outgoing. Mio sometimes saw her with different people outside, carefree and having fun.

The older guy was insanely tall, he was probably a head taller than her (and that's saying something) or more. He had light brown hair and eyes with more colors than she could count. She'd never seen this guy around before. Then again, he was probably always out on the pitch playing football.

'_Football. I don't see the fun in it_,' she grimaced. She had shoddy footwork and was always conscious of her athletic skills. Yeah, she probably wasn't the best.

The questions fortunately weren't that hard. She saw Shane's paper and noticed that he didn't answer a single question. He didn't even write his name. She sighed.

"Aren't you gonna answer that?" she asked, nudging his arm. He looked like a little kid getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar. She smirked at his expression. "Were you daydreaming or something?"

"Uh, no. It's nothing," he said. She raised an eyebrow before shaking her head and going over her questions.

Fifteen minutes into Lunch and she was done. It seemed that she was first to finish. Not that surprising since the rest were babbling most of the time. She stood up and handed her paper over to the teacher before deciding to head to the Library. Bidding the group goodbye, she left the room.

The tunnel was dark, seeing as they didn't bother with turning the lights on. She got to the middle staircase and went down. She passed a few familiar faces, though thankfully, none of them were in her class.

"Hi," she greeted. The Librarian smiled at her in return.

She picked up a book and buried her nose in it, unresponsive to anyone's calls. This was her time of peace and she treasured it greatly. Anyone (except teachers) who failed to understand that would be sent away with a cold glare.

* * *

**Chapter Three :)**

**The fourth should be up soon. Well, probably.**

**Review! It makes me feel happy.**


	4. Finally

"Dude," Mio called. The petite girl looked back at her. She was tan with dark hair and brown eyes. If memory served her correctly, her name was Serra. The girl with the longest last name she'd ever seen.

"I'm not a dude! I'm a girl!" she shot at her.

Mio simply shrugged, "Don't care about your gender. He's a dude, she's a dude, and that dog's a dude," she said. Really, saying dudette was too bothersome and it didn't have the same ring to it as dude did.

"You're weird," the other girl said. She had bushy curled hair that she tied back and wore a ribbon type headband around her face. She was rather plump but was very athletic. She looked to be of African assent but was probably brought up in England. Mio couldn't recall her name. It had something to do with a colour…probably.

These two were the shortest in their year and were inseparable. If Mio were to be completely honest however, she would say that Serra was just being used by the other girl. She would see the Jordanian girl running around carrying the other girl's belongings and following her everywhere. She kinda felt sorry for her since she sometimes overheard the other girls insulting her behind her back. She frowned. She was powerless over such matters and left it alone.

There were five other girls in her class, including Nellie. She wondered if she'd ever bother herself with learning their names. Perhaps Two-Face, Cronie and Attention-seeker would be sufficient? The other girl, namely her 'best friend', would be called Meatloaf. The nicknames weren't very creative but she didn't feel like taking time to make up nicknames for their lot. She'd think of better ones in the future. Serra would be called by her name. She could stick her so she was fine in her book.

"Anyway," she started. "Teacher said you'd better go back to class."

"What? Why?" Serra asked. This girl obviously didn't like getting into trouble.

"Dunno. Not my business," she replied cooly.

This was what everyone knew her as. Calm and collected, extremely sarcastic and cold though generous and modest. No one's seen her smile in a while, let alone laugh. Whenever she did though, everyone could tell it was forced. For this reason, no one really bothered actually getting to know her. She grimaced.

"Just let it be," she murmured to herself as she made her way to the sorry excuse of a library. Only good thing about it was, people didn't care where you sat, so long as you weren't in the way, they didn't give a damn.

Before she even reached her destination, a huge arm stopped her. She gulped. This arm was very familiar. Familiar but definitely unwelcome.

"I'm tired of going to the library with those nerds, let's go outside and hang out with the cooler people," Meatloaf whined.

'_Why don't you go there yourself, or are you so spoilt that you can't even go anywhere without me?_' she thought scathingly. This was getting on her nerves and she was finding it hard to keep the indifference act up. Her mind whirred several insults before she stopped her childish musings.

This was her chance.

"If you're too cool for my friends then leave us alone and go find someone else to hang out with," she replied dryly. This was the perfect opportunity!

Unfortunately for her, this girl was just too dim to understand what she meant. Nellie just laughed at her at proceeded to drag her down to the football pitch.

'_Why me?_' she asked. This year was going to be just great, she could already tell. She rolled her eyes.

The warm afternoon sun blazed above their heads. It was almost winter but it was still sizzling hot. The fake grass beneath their feet smelt of smoke and burnt rubber. It was horrible.

She felt like she was going to burn. She frowned, this is why she never went outside for the breaks. Inconsiderate Meatloaf didn't notice her practically hyperventilating under the heat. No, of course she wouldn't.

"Finally come out of the cave, huh?" an attractive Scottish boy commented. Mio turned around and was face to face with Two-Face, Attention-Seeker, Cronie and Serra. She frowned in distaste. Siriusly! (Pun intended)

She comforted herself by thinking about that book about the guy with the scar on his forehead. She mentally smirked at the thought of an owl swooping in and pecking everyone before delivering her admission letter. That would be very amusing.

"You look like you're going to pass out!" Serra observed.

'_No duh_,' she thought sarcastically.

"I wouldn't be like this if _someone_ hadn't dragged me out here against my will," she hissed.

"She really is a vampire!" the Scot chuckled. She rolled her eyes and walked away from the group. She was going to pass out from heat if she stayed out any longer than this.

A sturdy tanned hand reached out and grabbed hers before pulling her in the direction of the doors with great speed. She nearly tripped several times but didn't complain. This was a welcome escape. Her eyes widened when she saw who the culprit was. What was Shane doing? Bah, who cared!

They stopped running once they reached the gazebos. Mio'd never seen this place before. There were flowers everywhere! She really should explore the school more. Who knows, maybe there was a closet to _Narnia_ hidden away here. She smirked at the thought. That would be great! But sadly, it was too good to be true.

"I think you owe me," said Shane as he smirked at her panting form. She rolled her eyes at him.

"No I don't. Why would I?" Mio challenged.

"I got you out of there. You should be thankful," he said.

"And I am," she added. He sighed. "What? Thanks aren't enough for you?"

"They'd have kept you there until you fainted," he retorted. "I did you a favor."

Mio shrugged. "Okay fine. What do you want in return?"

He smiled cryptically, mirth dancing in his eyes. "Dunno yet. I'll tell you whenever I need something," he said. She suppressed the urge to groan. Great, now he had something to hold over her head whenever he needed something impossible.

"I'll do it so long as it's nothing too over the top," she said in defeat. He gave her a toothy grin before sitting down on one of the benches. She followed suit.

The sun peaked through the cracks in the roof and cast shadows on them. She watched the shadows dance as the breeze came. There were probably plants on top of the thing.

Shane pulled out a lunchbox out of nowhere and handed her some food. She looked at it incredulously. She'd never been one to eat Lunch. She'd fill her stomach on the first break. It was always sufficient. Besides, she ate at home whenever she got back.

"It's not poisoned," he teased. She rolled her eyes at him.

"How would I know? Maybe you're plotting something," she replied dryly. He cracked a smile at this.

"Come on, just eat it," he insisted. The corner of her mouth twitched before she resigned and accepted the sandwich.

"You're just giving me this because you don't like it, aren't you?" she accused. He grinned at her, a glint of mischief appearing in his eyes. It reminded her of Fred and George from that Harry Potter book.

"Now, why would I do that?" he said, feigning innocence.

"Don't know. Why would you?"

_Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!_

"Ugh. Whatever. Let's go, we're going to be late," said Mio. Time sure went by quickly.

The duo entered the class together, tired from running all the way up to French. Thankfully, they weren't the last ones there. Half the class were still missing, and by the looks of it, the teacher didn't care. They both sat down at a table.

Normally, she wouldn't have cared sitting next to him. But this was different. The tables were arranged for two people to sit, not the usual four. Her eye twitched at the image of people teasing them. Especially after Shane whisked her off in the pitch.

'_Best if I just ignored it,' _she thought. That's probably what they'd expect from her though. She'd be indifferent, roll her eyes and offer a sarcastic remark. Yep, that would be Mio. Except, that's not who she really was. That's who they thought she was.

"Get ready for the annoying people," Shane whispered. She nodded before going into her 'leave me alone' pose where she would lean on the table and prop her head up with a hand. A scowl found itself forming on her face as people started filing in and giving them pointed glances and knowing smirks.

"Mio! I can't believe you left me like that! And why are you sitting with him? Get up and sit over here NOW!" Meatloaf bellowed. Mio ground her teeth together but stayed put. She wasn't going to let her boss her around like this. Who did she think she was?

"Nellie! That's not how you should be talking to someone! It's extremely rude! I expected more from you! As a punishment, you will be sitting on your own and no one will talk to you for the duration of the class!" Miss Ourei lectured.

Shane and I shared a contempt smirk. Finally!

"Serves her right," she heard him say under his breath. Her smirk grew wider and she had to conceal it with her hand. Had she finally found a friend who understood her?

* * *

"I think he likes me," the meatloaf gushed. Mio had to suppress an eye roll at the girl. "He keeps staring at me."

"Just 'cause he stares at you doesn't mean he likes you," she dead panned. The girl took no heed.

"No. He likes me. He won't just stare at me for nothing!" she argued.

"Whatever you say. Don't blame me if he doesn't actually like you," Mio sighed.

Meatloaf was hopeless. She thought every boy liked her for some reason, and now she's claiming that Jake had a crush on her. If she and Jake were to be the last people on Earth, he would commit suicide. That's how much he despised her. He was absolutely revolted by her. The girl just didn't seem to see this and was pushing herself onto him. Mio felt sorry for the guy actually.

Jake was a nice enough person, she decided. He would go to her when he was stuck at the hardest questions then they would work it out together. He wasn't as quiet as people thought he was. He was actually just timid around people he wasn't familiar with. With his friends however, he would make the occasional snide remarks and perverted jokes. Mio soon learned that all the perverted rubbish that came out of Shane's mouth had been Jake's idea. It amused her to no end. Who'd have thought?

They walked around the pitch, seeing as it was finally cool and the sun was actually hidden behind clouds. Eventually, they'd catch sight of the boys from their year playing basketball at the court. Nellie was ecstatic. If this were an anime, her eyes would be filled with stars at seeing her 'secret admirer'. It made the boys sick, and because of that, they tended to avoid Mio too. It was annoying, to say the least. At least Shane had the decency to remind that she was only with Meatloaf because she had no choice.

Speaking of Shane, the boy was acting weird. He would be waiting outside with her during dismissal. They both had to wait out front for their rides so they always ended up seeing each other. It unnerved her that he followed her to her car sometimes and deliberately tease her in front of her father and siblings. She'd have to talk to him about that.

"Look Jake, your stalker's here," she heard someone say. It was one of her classmates, Sean. He was a small Singaporean boy who had a knack for trouble. Beside him was Raphael, his best friend, a short Mauritian boy. They reminded her of the Weasley Twins from Harry Potter. It was always fun when they were around.

Jake looked around, looking devastated. Mio smirked at his dismay. Poor bloke. He saw them and promptly hid behind Nick, an bulky Iranian kid in their class. It was a good choice of cover. All Jake had to do was duck and stand sideways so Meatloaf wouldn't see him.

"Nellie, what are you doing here?" Nick called.

"None of your business!" she snarled. Watching them argue was always entertaining. They would always bounce insults in Iranian off each other. Shane and Weasley Twins II found it amusing as well.

"You're scaring them 'cause you're so ugly," he retorted. Mio's eyes widened. That was a new one. Usually it was just 'you're so fat' and 'I can't see, your head's too big.' The others were laughing their socks off. Meatloaf huffed and stomped off. She never won these arguments, making it a really nice reward for everyone who watched.

"Godzilla's gone," Sean said to the hiding Jake. She heard him sigh in relief.

"You guys go on playing basketball. She'll be too upset to come back," Mio assured. They smiled at her then nodded.

At least she knew they didn't hate her.

* * *

A new girl was here. Well, she wasn't exactly _new._ She was just late in her enrolling. She was Iranian as well and seemed to like Nellie fairly well. _Seemed_ being the key word. In private, she would be horrible to her and call her nasty names. Nellie never found out. She thought this new girl was actually her new best friend. It made Mio snort in disgust.

Her name was Harietta. She was average height, big boned and had a huge chest. This made her insanely popular with the boys of course. She was another trouble maker. She was best friends with Two-Faced. Mio decided to call her Plastic. It defined her perfectly. She only remembered your existence when she needed something. Most of the time, it was to cheat in class. Mio would grind her teeth in irritation but did nothing. What could she do about it? Absolutely nothing.

Poor Serra was left alone, seeing as Two-Faced was only using her. She was forced to stay with Mio and Nellie when they needed to pair up. It was frustrating to say the least. Sure, just dump all the unwanted people on her. That's just great. What was she to them? Some sort of garbage disposal?

At least Serra was better company than Nellie. In time, the two became very close. This made Meatloaf really, really jealous. She would resort to insulting the other girl and accusing her of stealing Mio from her. Mio said nothing. She didn't need to. Her silence was enough to tell both of them that she'd rather they shut up. Which they eventually got in the end.

Serra and Mio were seen a lot together without Nellie. They had to sneak away really quickly though. Meatloaf always found them if they never ran. They'd grown increasingly annoyed to her following them around. Soon, the boys helped them get away just for a laugh. They were grateful though.

"We'll never shake her. Why won't she just go leave us alone?" Serra complained. It was true. The girl stuck to them like glue. Serra finally understood how _she _felt like all those months.

"She's just clingy and doesn't want to accept the truth," said Mio. Serra sighed.

* * *

"London Trip!" Sean shouted. Mio smiled at his childishness. He looked really excited. It was to be expected though. Even she was excited to go.

"Quiet down," said Charlie. Charlie was a quiet boy who sat next to Jake a lot. She never really had a chance to talk to the guy. People said he was cute though she didn't see it.

Raphael nodded. "Yeah, can't you see we're trying to study here," Raph scolded.

The class had Independent Studies since the teacher was absent and there were no substitutes available. She was surprised they actually used the time to study. Knowing her class, they would have jumped at every opportunity of free time. It was a pleasant change. She liked the peace and quiet.

It was peace that was short lived. "Can you help me study for the Science test?" Harrieta asked. Mio hid a scowl. She could just pretend to be asleep. Her head was on the desk after all.

Then came the chorus of "Yeah, me too!"'s. She sighed and straightened herself. Might as well do _something_.

"Alright, fine," she said. Jake and Charlie immediately stood up and pulled their chairs toward her table. She narrowed her eyes at them but said nothing. These two always had good scores anyway. Not like she'd have to help them much.

"You're going to the trip, right?" Cronie asked. She nodded, too busy helping Plastic with a question she couldn't get. Teaching her was impossible. She would never become a teacher, she decided.

"Who're you sharing a room with?" Attention-Seeker interjected. Mio nearly sighed. Couldn't they see that she was busy?

"Don't know. Some girl named Valerie," she calmly replied.

"We're going to be sitting next to each other," Charlie slyly added in.

"How do you know?" Jake questioned.

"Saw the tickets already," was the reply he received.

"M'kay then. Are we studying or not? I want to nap you know," she said. They grinned at her before poring over their books. She rolled her eyes then went to help Sean.

At least they weren't monkeying around.


End file.
